


5 + 1

by spencerlee



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1 Things, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, It’s kind of like, M/M, Minor Injuries, Slow Burn, and then they didn’t, oh they’re going to kiss now, quick updates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29570775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spencerlee/pseuds/spencerlee
Summary: 5 times they almost figured it out and the 1 time they did.OREzio suffers from severe nightmares, but a certain someone is always there to make it better. Somewhere along the way they realize just what they mean to each other.
Relationships: Ezio Auditore da Firenze/Leonardo da Vinci
Kudos: 44





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> I realize now that I never actually picked a name for this, despite the fact that about 80% of it is already written. I really didn’t think it through.

The first time it happens Leonardo makes the mistake of waking him up.

Ezio was on the couch and must have fallen asleep during Leonardo’s mutterings about the newest Codex page and how to decipher it. At some point Ezio jerks, his eyes are still closed but he’s mumbling something. It’s enough to pull Leonardo away from what he’s working on as he rushes over to Ezio’s side.

“Ezio,” Leonardo says as he shakes his shoulders. “Ezio, please. It’s only a dream.”

Ezio jerks, there’s a threatening  _ snick  _ of his hidden blade engaging and Leonardo drops to the floor. He has no time to react, Ezio is much quicker than him, he throws his bracer off his wrist and to the ground. He falls in front of Leonardo, gathers him up with his arm to pull him against his chest. 

He’s unharmed, more shaken-up than anything. Leonardo realizes that his cheeks are warm and damp, surely Ezio has already noticed. His one hand has been steadily checking, most likely for any blood but he smudged Leonardo’s tears across his cheeks in his search.

“I’m so sorry.” Ezio whispers, mostly to Leonardo’s hair.

Leonardo still can’t find the courage to lift his head from Ezio’s shoulder. He feels foolish, he wasn’t even injured and it was Ezio who was obviously struggling with awful nightmares.

“It’s alright. I’m okay.” Leonardo mutters, his arms tightening around Ezio, “What were you dreaming of?”

He can feel Ezio’s breath catch in his throat and his chest tighten after he asks.

“I’d rather not.” Ezio takes a moment to clear his throat before continuing. “Talk about it.” He adds quickly.

“That’s alright. You don’t have to.”

“I doubt it would help anything. It’s better, if I can sleep through it.” He explains. “Although I’m sorry it disturbed you.”

Leonardo so desperately wants to tell him that all he really cares about is how Ezio feels. He wants to apologize for panicking and crying, and even trying to wake him up in the first place. He knows they’ve already been here too long though, it’s long past the point of  _ just  _ friendly. So, he makes a silent promise to leave Ezio be, if it happens again.

He finally finds the courage to lift his head from Ezio’s shoulder, and he meets Ezio’s eyes again he looks surprised, like maybe they could have just stayed there forever and everything would be okay.

“Are you still staying?” Leonardo asks.

“If you’ll still have me.” Ezio says with a ghost of a smile, nothing like his usual self and Leonardo doesn’t really know where to go from here. He decides to just knock his shoulder into Ezio’s, the man barely shifts against Leonardo’s weight but it does get a real smile on his face.

“Always.” Leonardo says, grinning back at him and hoping his voice doesn’t carry all the things he’s not ready to say yet.

-

When they go to bed that night and Ezio leaves his weapons further away than usual, urges Leonardo to the outside of the bed and then curls up into himself, practically against the wall, neither of them says anything.


	2. two

The next time Leonardo sees Ezio he just  _ laughs  _ the moment he opens the door and he sees Ezio standing there, completely soaked.

“Ezio, what the hell did you  _ do? _ ” He asks, pulling him inside. “You do know it’s freezing out, don’t you?”

“Really? I didn’t notice.” He says, he sarcastic tone ruined by the chattering of his teeth.

“Get in front of the fire,” Leonardo directs, “and I’ll go get you something dry to wear. I believe you left some extra clothes the last time you were here.”

Leonardo returns when Ezio is halfway through undressing, carrying clean,  _ dry _ , clothes, blankets, and a spare towel.

“How did you end up like this?” He asks as he passes what he’s brought to Ezio. He leans down then, to give Ezio some privacy but also to tend to the fire.

“Had to save that little devil.” He says gesturing near Leonardo’s legs where a little black cat, soaked to her very bones, is moving towards him.

Ezio crouches down beside them, towel in hand to gently dry the cat as much as he can.

“She would’ve died.” Ezio says, unusually quiet. “If I didn’t go in after her.”

Leonardo looks up to face him, not realizing how close the two of them were until he felt his nose brush against Ezio’s. 

“I, um.” Leonardo starts, he can’t remember what he wanted to say but he knows it wasn’t  _ that. _ “I’ll go get, something for us to sleep on. You two should stay in front of the fire tonight.”

“Thank you.” Ezio says with a smile.

Leonardo rises shakily to his feet and makes for the stairs, his toes barely brush the first step before he sighs and turns to face Ezio again.

“Ezio?” He calls out, and continues after he looks up at him. “You’re a good man.”

His face flushes and he looks back down at the cat, Leonardo shakes his head and smiles before continuing up the steps.

When Leonardo returns, dragging all of the bedding and pillows he could find, Ezio has put on a shirt and they both look significantly warmer than when they first arrived. He tells the two of them to stay put while he makes a bed for the night.

Ezio whines about not being able to feel his toes shortly after they lay down, so he shifts both him and their new friend until his head is being pillowed by Leonardo’s stomach and the cat is stretched out along Ezio’s side, purring as both of them pet her lightly.

At some point Leonardo’s hand ends up in Ezio’s curls. He only intended to move them enough to dry but Ezio seemed like he needed the attention, pushing his head up into Leonardo’s hand when he went to move it, so he let it stay there, combing gently and letting his nails scratch against his scalp occasionally. It isn’t long before the two of them fall asleep, with Leonardo watching over them.

-

Leonardo is woken up from the longest stretch of time that he’s slept so far by Ezio, getting kicked in the stomach by the little sweet kitten still sleeping against his side. He hears Ezio shushing her, and he watches through tired eyes as he rubs her shoulders until she relaxes again. Somehow she never wakes up and Ezio falls back asleep quickly, but Leonardo is wide awake and he starts to form a plan.


	3. three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so brief cw for blood and a minor injury, it’s all skipped over pretty fast and not important to the plot really

  
Leonardo finally gets to put his plan in action a few weeks later. Ezio has been hanging around more recently, with their new little friend staying at Leonardo’s place during Ezio’s attempt to find her a home, it’s been a good enough excuse to drop by as often as he wants and Leonardo enjoys his company greatly. 

So when Ezio comes tumbling in through the open window and announces that he’s found somewhere permanent for her to live he can’t help but feel a little disappointed. He’s grown accustomed to both of their company, but before Ezio leaves he promises he’ll be back soon with dinner and wine as a payment for watching her for so long.

That was hours ago, it’s gone dark out and Leonardo is worried _.  _ He wouldn’t have lied to him and he fears the worst. He isn’t sure how long he sits there, doing nothing but worrying and waiting until he hears something  _ thunk _ into his door.

“Leonardo? Please, it’s me.”

He practically trips over his own feet in his hurry to open the door, as soon as it unlatches the weight of Ezio leaned against it pushes it open.

“I’m so sorry.” Ezio says as he falls through the doorway, Leonardo isn’t sure if he can hold him up but he tries his best to let him down slowly, before he shuts and bars the door.

“What happened?” He asks, falling down beside him and pulling open his shirt. And, oh. That’s  _ blood _ . Coating his shirt and skin and Leonardo’s hands, he manages to find the source and bunch Ezio’s already ruined shirt into it, he pulls Ezio’s hands over it to hold. Enough to keep the bleeding down while he finds something to clean and bind the wound.

“I wasn’t thinking,” Ezio says when he returns, “I was running across the rooftops and one of the archers got lucky.”

“ _ Merde. _ ” He swears some more under his breath. Attempting to thread the needle, despite his shaking hands. “Don’t worry, I can fix this.” 

“Leonardo, wait. I shouldn’t have,” Ezio slurs as he makes to stand, though he’s much too weak to get up and his legs buckle, “if they saw me come in through your door they’l-“

“Ezio, I don’t care. I don’t.” Leonardo says as he places his hands on his shoulders and pushes him back down, “I only care about you, I just need you to stay still.”

He nods and relaxes under Leonardo’s hands, although both of them say nothing. Ezio is, as always, a good patient, he stays as quiet and as still as possible, only moving when Leonardo guides him. 

Leonardo lets his head fall against Ezio’s chest the moment he’s done stitching him up. He tries his hardest to be gentle, but Ezio still grunts quietly anyway, he doesn’t seem too bothered by it though since his arms come to wrap around Leonardo’s waist and drag him in closer. 

They both rest for a while, waiting long enough for both of their heart rates to go down and breathing to settle before Leonardo rolls his head to the side so he can look at Ezio.

“Are you alright?” Leonardo asks softly.

Ezio nods and leans down to press his forehead against Leonardo’s, he closes his eyes and feels Ezio squeeze his waist before he reaches over to grab something.

“So much happened that I forgot why I was on the roof in the first place.” Ezio says nudging Leonardo’s shoulder.

He opens his eyes to find him holding a piece of bread of some sort and gives him a puzzled look.

“There’s this lovely woman who runs a bakery, she makes the most amazing breads.” Ezio explains. “I tried this a while ago. I thought you’d like it and I didn’t want to come home empty handed.”

Leonardo rolls to sit beside Ezio instead of practically in his lap, though he still rests his head on his shoulder still while he passes him his portion.

“If only the templers knew how easy it would be kill you.” Leonardo observes. “All they would need is a drowning kitten or some good bread.”

Ezio pouts and shoves against Leonardo, but laughs despite himself.

“It’s very good bread.” Ezio defends. “And she was a very cute cat.”

“None of it is worth losing you for.” Leonardo says, mostly mumbling into his food. “I can’t think of anything worth losing you over.”

Ezio doesn’t respond verbally to his words, but he knows that he hears him when he slouches down further so he can rest his head against Leonardo’s. 

They eat the rest of their meal in silence, afterwards Leonardo deems Ezio’s condition safe enough to sleep without any worry, so he helps him hobble up the stairs and into bed together.

-

Ezio is mumbling and twitching in his sleep again, it’s enough to wake Leonardo up and he turns over to face Ezio’s back. He presses his one hand firmly against Ezio’s bare shoulder blade, he can feel him tense for a moment but then he blows out a breath and settles.

He pushes his luck a bit further as he moves closer to Ezio until they’re almost touching. It seems to pay off, Ezio sighs, quieter this time, as the tension leaves his body and he begins to snore softly. Leonardo smiles behind him, presses his forehead to the back of his neck and tells himself he’ll roll back over later.


	4. four

Even without an excuse Ezio still seems to show up more often. Sometimes he has reasons, like codex pages or wanting Leonardo to check his stitches, but most of the time he drops by just to have dinner and spend the night. Neither of them work regular hours and on the rare occasions when Leonardo is already asleep when he gets here, he just lets himself in and joins Leonardo.

Sadly, it’s not one of the nights where Leonardo can sleep by himself. 

He really did try, he did! Still he just couldn’t seem to fall asleep alone, so after a few hours of tossing and turning he decides to give up and work on something downstairs.

That’s where he falls asleep, and he wakes up to Ezio crouched down beside him and whispering his name. When Leonardo opens his eyes to look at him, he slides the tool out of Leonardo’s hand to rest it on the table.

“I’m going to carry you, is that alright?” He asks, not waiting for an actual answer before he pulls Leonardo up and around him, moving to take them both upstairs.

By the time they reach the bedroom he remembers that Ezio’s stitches are still healing, they’ve been fine and he’s past the point of any serious damage but it still matters to Leonardo.

“You could’ve pulled your stitches doing that. Let me look.” He demands as Ezio sets him down on the bed.

“It’s fine, Leonardo. Go back to sleep.” Ezio says as he crawls into bed beside him.

“If it was really fine then you’d let me see it.” He argues.

“Leonar-“

“Ezio.” He interrupts, Ezio knows by his tone that it’s best to keep quiet and listen for once but he just can’t help himself.

“There isn’t much to see, I removed them myself because they’ve he-

“You’ve removed them!”

“-aled properly. Look, Leonardo, truly it’s fine.” He says, pulling of his shirt to show the neat little pink line underneath. “You did a wonderful job.”

Leonardo reaches out to run his fingers smoothly over the mark as Ezio continues to talk.

“You worry worse than my sister, at least she trusts in your ability to close a wound.”

“How does she know about that?” He asks softly, his hand still resting on Ezio’s stomach.

“I mentioned it to her in my last letter.” Ezio’s hand curls over Leonardo’s protectively and he speaks quieter this time. “I write about you all the time.”

“Why?” He whispers and Ezio’s fingers tighten around his.

“You mean you don’t know how much I l-“ Ezio starts and then stops, “I couldn’t do any of this without you, you must know that, at least. Leonardo, I care greatly for you.”

Leonardo freezes for an undetermined amount of time while Ezio states at him, tears welling up in his eyes before he can find his tongue again. Though he can only manage a choked out, “Thank you.” 

“We should get some rest. It’s been a long day.”

“Ah, indeed it has.”

Ezio squeezes his hand once more as they begin to seperate and go to their sides of the bed and while usually Ezio would stay facing Leonardo, this time he rolled to face the wall, the way he rarely did unless he was upset or injured. Without being able to see him Leonardo feels braver than he ought to, so he lies down beside him, pressed up against his back and nose tapping the nape of his neck.

There’s little tears rolling down his cheeks when he turns over to hold Leonardo, tugging at him until they’re all tangled together, but he smiles and shifts until he can plant a kiss on Leonardo’s forehead so he doesn’t say anything.

They’re both asleep far sooner than they expected.


	5. five

They don’t mention it while they’re awake, and most nights they don’t start cuddling until one of them has aheady fallen asleep. Or more accurately, until Leonardo  _ pretends _ to fall asleep and then just happens to roll over until he’s up against Ezio again. He doesn’t seem to mind, he always presses closer somehow and on the mornings he stays late enough for Leonardo to wake up he doesn’t run away or act like he doesn’t sleep better when they sleep like that.

So it doesn’t come as a surprise to Leonardo when he hears Ezio slip into his room. He’s not sure what time it is exactly, but he thinks it must be later than usual or perhaps Ezio is just more clumsy tonight, by the third time he bumps into something, and swears again, Leonardo has already pushed himself up onto his elbows to squint at him in the dark.

“Are you alright?” He asks.

“I don’t know.” He says after a long pause. “I just wanted to be here, before I have to leave tomorrow.”

Ezio reaches out for Leonardo, so he doesn’t harm him as he crawls into bed and Leonardo lays himself back down, his arms circling Ezio’s chest and shoulders, while Ezio lays his head on his chest and throws an arm and leg over Leonardo, and then his hand finds the edge of a fresh bandage on his arm and he traces it gently.

“Before you ask, it’s nothing. Just a little scratch.” Ezio says.

Leonardo huffs. “You don’t  _ know _ that I was going to ask.”

“You were going to ask,” Ezio says as he squeezes his side, “go back to sleep.”

Leonardo smiles and shakes his head, but closes his eyes without arguing.

-

When Leonardo wakes up and realizes he’s alone he immediately rolls over where Ezio usually sleeps to pout. He knows he really has no reason to be upset, he probably left early when Leonardo was sleeping deeply and didn’t want to ruin the rest of his night for him. Still, he wishes he had a chance to say goodbye. He’s not sure how long Ezio will be gone for and he didn’t even ask where he was going.

He sighs and bunches a pillow against his chest, he fears that it could be years again before he sees Ezio again. Would he even know if something happened to him? With no clue where he was going and no idea if he could send or receive letters anyway.

So wrapped up in his fear of what might happen, he doesn’t realize Ezio is still here, hearing the steps creak under Ezio’s weight or smelling the food he’s carrying doesn’t get his attention so it’s not until he hears the plates and cups being set down that he jerks up and wipes the dampness from his cheeks.

“Oh,” is all Ezio can get out as he stares at him for a moment, “Leonardo, I’m sorry. Do you need a minute alone?”

“No, it’s just- I’m.” 

Leonardo shakes his head and scoots to the edge of the bed so he can put his arms around Ezio’s neck and hook his chin over his shoulder, Ezio responds almost instantly and his arms curl around his waist.

“I thought you had already left.” He admits, finding the words easier now that he wasn’t looking Ezio in the eye, “and I wasn’t sure where you were going or when you’d be back. I was worried it might be years again.”

“I shouldn’t have done that, I wasn’t going to this time. I’m only going to my uncles villa for a few days, a week at the most.” Ezio says.

“I’m so sorry I know it’s no-“

Ezio shushes him and rubs small circles in his back until Leonardo calms down again.

“I’m guessing you didn’t notice that my bags are still here.”

Leonardo pulls back to scoff and swat at his shoulder as he shakes his head. He feels slightly less ridiculous now and doesn’t feel like crying, especially when Ezio is still halfway holding him and smiling at him like  _ that _ .

“Would you like to come with me?” He asks. “After all, I am injured. I may need you to take care of me.”

“You said that was nothing!”

“Maybe it is, I won’t tell unless you come with me. And only after we finish breakfast.” Ezio says as he stands up and offers Leonardo a plate.

Leonardo eyeballs him, and the meal for a moment before he answers. “Only because I’m too tired to fix myself anything else.”

  
  



	6. six

Leonardo can’t sleep.  _ Again. _ It’s bad enough being somewhere new but he knows that Ezio is here somewhere but he never actually managed to figure out where his room is. 

They arrived later than expected, possibly because of Leonardo’s desire to sketch half of the things and places they passed on the way here (although Ezio didn’t even try to stop him), so from the moment they stepped in Ezio was being ushered around and talked to and helping make plans. Leonardo got to tag along for all of it, finally meeting Claudia and Mario was the only part he really paid attention to, for the rest of it he just hung off of Ezio who was constantly touching him in some way when he had the chance.

By all means, Leonardo should have been exhausted by it all. Yet sleep still eludes him. He decides eventually that he’d feel better if he just got up and walked around for a bit. If he just happens to stumble on Ezio’s room and gets invited to stay, well, that’s just a bonus. That wouldn’t be the point of his exploration.

He can’t seem to find his room, but he does find  _ him  _ in the kitchen, humming to himself as he makes a cup of tea. He doesn’t seem to notice, yet, Leonardo standing the doorway staring at him. He looks relaxed in the way he does in Leonardo’s home, with his armor and weapons gone and his hair down. He always looks so much younger.

“Can’t sleep either?” Ezio asks after he glances him. Leonardo shakes his head and finally steps in. “Want some?”

“Yes, please.” Leonardo replies.

He thinks that this is probably the perfect moment to just admit how he feels to Ezio, it’s far enough from Venice that if he doesn’t feel the same way they could just laugh it off and the discomfort from it might be gone before he needs him again. His fingers twitch and he takes a shaky breath before –

“I can never seem to sleep here.” Ezio says, looking down at the cups of tea. “I love my mother and sister dearly, but being around them,”

He starts to cry, and although he usually stops before he gets too far. Talking about things has never seemed easy for him, yet he seems determined to speak of this time, so Leonardo reaches out to grab his hand so he can find the courage to finish.

“It reminds of those who aren’t here anymore. Sometimes I feel as if I’m still waiting for them to show.”

Ezio flops down into his chair as he shoves a cup of tea towards Leonardo and then takes a sip of his own. Both of them keep their hands locked together as Leonardo shifts to grab his own mug and lean against the counter behind him.

“Would you stay with me tonight?” Ezio asks.

“I’m not sure I should, I -“ He starts before being interrupted.

“I’ve always slept better next to someone else,” Ezio says into his cup of tea, it echoes softly but Leonardo hears it clearly, “but especially with you.”

“Ezio, I thi-“

“I trust you, Leonardo.” Ezio says and finally makes eye contact with him.

“Then would you close your eyes and listen.” Leonardo snaps, and he’s shocked that Ezio does as he asked so quickly. There’s no time for Leonardo to collect his thoughts any further so he just speaks. “It, it feels as if I’m taking advantage of you if we keep on like this without you knowing how I feel.

You already know I’m attracted to men, more importantly I’m attracted to you, Ezio. I, well I think it’s best if we try to be more professional when we’re around each other.”

“Are you finished?” Ezio asks after a moment of silence, his eyes peeking open.

_ “Excuse me.” _

“Then it’s my turn,” He says like it’s the most obvious thing, “close your eyes.”

Leonardo does so, perhaps a bit more hesitant and huffy than Ezio was but he gives in, he assumes it’s only fair. He doesn’t believe that Ezio would ever harm him, despite his career tending to be violent, he is a good man to the people he cares about.

As quietly as Ezio moves, Leonardo still doesn’t flinch when Ezio wraps his hands around his hips, thumbs running over his hipbones. He’s still waiting for him to say something when he feels Ezio’s nose brush against his and even though he can feel his breath fan across his mouth he’s still surprised as Ezio’s lips gently meet his.

Almost immediately Leonardo gasps and Ezio pulls back but Leonardo doesn’t let him go far, blindly reaching up to grab him and pull him back in by a hand in his hair and one on his jaw. Ezio responds quickly, hands sliding to his back to pull him in closer. The kiss stays slow and sweet for a while, Ezio’s mouth is just as warm and strong as the rest of him and he can taste the tea he’s been drinking on his lips.

After long enough for their mouths to be red and slick, although too short of a while for how long the two of them have waited for it, Ezio pulls back, blushing. Burying his face in Leonardo’s neck and he can feel the heat of it radiating onto his skin.

“I’m not too good with words.” Ezio mumbles against his neck. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

Leonardo laughs and combs his fingers through his hair. “You never showed me where your room is.”

Ezio hums against his throat before stepping back entirely, sticking his hand out for Leonardo to take. He does so swiftly and trails just behind Ezio as he leads him to a part of the villa he hasn’t seen yet, and then to a ladder that leads, presumably, to Ezio’s room here.

“Ladies first.” Ezio grins and jokes, which is enough to earn him a swat to the arm even though Leonardo starts to climb anyway, and gestures upwards. 

As soon as he’s up there he makes himself comfy on the edge of the bed and watches Ezio strip off his shirt as he makes his way over to him, he tucks his hands under his jaw and tilts his up head to press a kiss to his forehead before asking, “take this off?” and tugging on his shirt. 

Leonardo obligies before Ezio gives him a soft shove so he tumbles down into the mattress with Ezio following close behind, laying mostly on top of Leonardo with his face buried in his neck. The two of them shift until they’re tangled together as close as possible, the blankets bunched just around their waists as their breathing evens out.

“Goodnight, Ezio. I love you.” Leonardo says even though he knows he’s already asleep, and kisses the top of Ezio’s head.

“I love you, too.” He says, clear as ever and he can feel him smiling against his neck before they both drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah man, I wrote this because our home lost power and my cat actually will rabbit kick me in the stomach and I can get him to sleep again if I’m sweet enough. And then as always I end up sprinkling my feelings of grief and love into my writing along the way.
> 
> Anyway, hope you all enjoy. Let me know if there’s any mistakes and thank you for reading❤️


End file.
